Why?
Because Stiemsma is the Celtcs' New Kid on the Block.
Wahlberg, a Boston native and diehard Celtics fan who narrated the ESPN documentary ?The Association: Boston Celtics? last season, is a member of the singing group ?New Kids on the Block? and an actor who currently stars in the CBS TV show ?Blue Bloods.?
Stiemsma, a 6-foot-11 rookie center, blocked six shots in his Celtics debut on Dec. 28 and contributed 13 points, 7 rebounds and 2 more blocks in his first start in place of the injured Jermaine O'Neal last Monday.
Stiemsma has blocked only one shot in his last two games, so he's fallen from second into a tie for sixth in the league with a team-high 2.2 blocks per game. Stiemsma, who averages less than 15 minutes, is still second in minutes per block at 7.01.
?It's always just kind of come natural to me,? Stiemsma said. ?I try to work on keeping my body where I need to be, I try to work on my vertical and my agility, but you can't necessarily set up a drill to block shots.?
Stiemsma, 26, is a big hit with his new teammates. Paul Pierce has nicknamed him the ?Steamroller? and Kevin Garnett raves about him.
?Seriously, man, I'm happy for Greg,? Garnett said. ?You see a guy come in here, coming from the bottom, coming from nothing, very appreciative of his opportunity, comes in, works his (butt) off. You're not seeing that (usually). He really comes in and works his (butt) off. (He's) a true professional and you're just happy to see a guy get an opportunity like that, and more importantly him taking advantage of it.?
Stiemsma, who averages only 3.7 points and 3.8 rebounds, still needs to develop the rest of his game. He doesn't want to be known as another Manute Bol, the 7-foot-7 stick man who was the only NBA player to finish his career with more blocks than points.
On the other hand, no one expected Stiemsma to even play in the NBA, let alone rank among the league leaders in any category.
?I'm sure there are people who are surprised,? he said. ?At times, to me it almost seems surreal, but I know I put the time in, I put the work in, I believe in my talent. It's fun for me to see the outcome too.?
In high school, Stiemsma helped his team capture three Wisconsin state titles, but at the Division 4 level. In 95 games at the University of Wisconsin, Stiemsma averaged only 10 minutes, 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1 block. He never averaged more than 11.7 minutes in any of his four college seasons. He made news in college only when he announced he was suffering from depression after poor grades nearly made him academically ineligible.
Attending a college with more than 40,000 students was a difficult adjustment. He had classes with 300-400 students. The entire enrollment of his high school was 185. Only 1,800 people live in Stiemsma's hometown of Randolph, Wis.
?I could probably tell you where everybody lives,? he joked.
His coaches, family and friends helped him get through those tough times.
?It was part of growing up,? he said. ?I wasn't taking care of what I needed to academically, and everything kind of backfired there. It was a grind at times. Even then I had doubts about if I wanted to keep playing the game at all.?
After college, Stiemsma played in Turkey and South Korea, then earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in the NBDL in 2009-10, when he averaged 8.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.6 blocks in 45 games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Minnesota and Cleveland waived Stiemsma prior to last season, so he returned to Turkey and averaged 6 points, 4 rebounds and a league-high 1.8 blocks.
This fall, he helped the U.S. win the bronze in the Pan Am Games in Mexico. He traveled to Georgia, the Eurasian country not the southern U.S. state, to play, but the money fell through so he returned to the NBDL and averaged 9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in four games for Sioux Falls before signing with the Celtics on Dec. 9.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers admitted he has no idea why Stiemsma can block so many shots.
?I've never known why good shot blockers were good shot blockers,? he said. ?They are born (that way) at times. They have such great timing.?
Over the past couple of years, Stiemsma worked with Sioux Falls assistant coach Tanner Bronson, his former Wisconsin teammate, to develop the split-second release on his jump shot.
Stiemsma, who has a couple of credits left at Wisconsin, weighed as much as 268 in college. The play in South Korea was quicker, so he lost weight to keep up with the pace. Stiemsma has kept the weight off and weighs about 240 now.
Stiemsma is Dutch, and some fans have trouble pronouncing his name.
?It sounds just like it's spelled,? Stiemsma said, ?as crazy as that sounds.?
If that doesn't help, pronounce it as ?Steams-ma.?
Stiemsma's family and close friends are excited that he's playing in the NBA, but he didn't expect the reaction he received when he visited a Macy's in the Boston area the day after blocking six shots in his debut. Quite a few people stopped him to congratulate him.
?I was kind of surprised,? Stiemsma said. ?I feel like I fly under the radar, but people recognized me on the street. That just kind of proves how good the Boston fans are.?
Stiemsma isn't sure where the mall was. That's understandable. After all, the rookie center is the new kid on the block in more ways than one.
Brooks off to fast start
It's too early to say that the Celtics made a mistake by trading guard MarShon Brooks for forward JaJuan Johnson on draft night last June, but Brooks is off to a much better start.
Entering last night, Brooks was averaging 14.1 points, tied for first among NBA rookies with Cleveland's Kyrie Irving, while Johnson had played less than 15 minutes and scored just four points.
The Celtics selected Brooks out of Providence College with the 25th pick, then dealt him to New Jersey for the 27th pick, which they used to take Johnson, and a 2014 second-round choice.
?We didn't really draft him,? Rivers explained. ?I don't even know why they go through that charade. The deal was done before the draft or before the pick. The Nets called us and told us to draft him.?
So the Celtics can't be criticized for trading Brooks, but they still passed up the opportunity to draft and keep him.
Brooks didn't know right away that the Celtics had drafted him for the Nets.
?I was just happy to be drafted, first of all,? he said. ?I was a little worried I'd go in the second round. My name got called. I went across the stage. I had my phone, and as I'm going across the stage, my phone was going off, ?Boom, boom, boom.' I checked my phone. I was a Celtic for what five minutes before they announced it on TV? I had like 500 text messages, ?Welcome to Boston.' It was from a lot of people I went to school with, Boston fans.?
Brooks was talking about playing with the Big Three during an interview when he found out he had been traded to New Jersey.
?All of it caught me by surprise,? Brooks admitted, ?because I didn't work out for the Celtics in the draft process, and I didn't work out for New Jersey.?
Brooks burned the Celtics for 15 points in the first half Wednesday, but he sprained his left ankle late in the half and scored only two more points that night. The ankle injury kept him out of Friday's win over Toronto. Before Wednesday's game, he insisted he held nothing against the Celtics for trading him.
?I want to make a point more so that the Nets made the right decision,? he said. ?I don't care about the Celtics. I was a Celtic for all of five seconds.?
Brooks averages 23 minutes a game for the Nets, but he probably wouldn't have played that much for Boston. Ray Allen starts at his position and leads the Celtics in scoring. Brooks would be a huge offensive upgrade over backup shooting guard Avery Bradley, a defensive standout who scored only two points in Boston's first six games before pouring in 11 against New Jersey on Wednesday.
Bradley was switched to shooting guard after he proved he couldn't handle the point, but he's shooting only 33.3 percent. Brooks is shooting a respectable 45.8, but is nowhere near the defender Bradley is.
The 6-foot-5 Brooks averaged 24.5 points last season to lead the Big East in scoring and rank second in Division 1.
Bill Doyle can be contacted by email at wdoyle@telegram.com.
Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5716917210
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